Memphis, TN – Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team got off to a good start against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR), but could not maintain the early momentum and fell in four sets (25-19, 18-25, 15-25, 17-25), Friday morning in the opening match of the Tiger Invitational at Elma Roane Fieldhouse.

A week of focus on defense paid off for Austin Peay (2-11) in the opening set as they recorded four blocks in the frame. That defensive effort helped stymie the UALR offense which posted as many kills (nine) as errors (nine). UALR would battle and tied the set, 16-16, but Austin Peay won nine of the next 12 points to secure a 25-19 victory.

Austin Peay carried that intensity over to the early portion of the second set and led by as many as four points, 10-6. UALR slowly turned the momentum and took control with a set-ending 9-2 run to claim a 25-18 win. The Lady Govs offense started to fade in the set-ending run, recording just one kill in the final 11 points.

UALR (6-4) pushed its advantage in the third set. After an ugly start that saw the teams struggle to a 6-6 tie, UALR used a 12-5 run to break the set open. The Austin Peay offense was stopped to the tune of eight kills against eight errors, four errors coming in the set’s final 14 points.

The fourth set was more of the same, with the teams tied at 13-13 before UALR closed the match with a 12-4 run. Austin Peay’s offense rallied for 14 kills against only six errors in the set. However, UALR’s offense went unchallenged with 16 kills posted with only one error.

After opening the match with five blocks in the opening set, Austin Peay’s defense faded with two blocks in the second frame and none in both the third and fourth sets.

“We came out with a plan in mind and executed it in the first set,” said Lady Govs head coach Taylor Mott. “Unfortunately, we were unable to continue forward with that plan in the next three sets. We have to improve our consistency within a match – that’s the biggest improvement we can make right now.”

Redshirt freshman Sammie Ebright led Austin Peay with 12 kills, including five in the fourth set. Junior middle blocker Liz Landon led the Lady Govs offense through three sets and finished with 11 kills.